Up to 1981 in Switzerland tens of thousands of people were detained in labour facilities without judgement and without having committed any crime. Although it was based on various laws, the practice adopted by the authorities was problematic for a State based on the rule of law and was often overtly arbitrary. Often it was enough to be defined as «lazy» or «dissolute» to be locked away in a facility for years. In 2014 the Parliament acknowledged the wrong inflicted on adeministrative detainees and ordered the historical reassessment of this past.

The Final Report of the Independent Expert Commission on Administrative Detention presents a concise, readable synthesis of its findings, setting them in the context of Swiss history. It also contains the recommendations of the commission regarding the continuation of the rehabilitation process and accounts of former detainees. It provides a solid basis for further political and historical discussions concerning compulsory welfare measures and placing children in care and for the aknowledgement of the injustice of the past.